Family Is More Than Blood
by SleeplessOwl22
Summary: A face from Daryl's past shows up with Aaron at Alexandria. How will this change Daryl's relationships when his abusive past is revealed to the group. Will Rick still treat him like a brother? Or will he have to leave the group? What happens when Eric and Aaron are having troubles and Aaron turns to Daryl?
1. Chapter 1: New Girl

**Hopefully you like this story! I'm still working on it, but here's the first chapter. It's my first TWD story. Hopefully you like it! Please review and let me know what you think of the story so far.**

Chapter 1: New Girl

Carter's P.O.V

The forest was familiar as I ran through it, it's where I spent most of my time these days. I lost track of the days that went by. I do know that I do what I have to; to survive. Nothing has been the same, and nothing will ever be the same. I know that now. I tried groups but they never last. For who knows how long I've been alone. My brothers are out there somewhere I know it. I finally find a trail and then I hit a dead end. But each time I get close. I got close enough to see one of them run off from their makeshift house, but not close enough for him to hear me without attracting the geeks near by. I jump over a fallen tree as I lay and hide. Fidgeting with an arrow to get my compound bow ready to fire at the enemy. Moments after a man jumps over I wait and there it is. A geek with moss all over its body. Making unpleasant sounds I release the arrow and it hits the target. The geek falls and the man with curly hair stops running. I get up and pull out another arrow. I draw it back ready to fire.

"Who are you?" I demand. The man with a tired look puts his hands up. "Why are you following me?" I threaten to let go of the string.

"No don't shoot! Please I have a place you can go." He says reaching for his bag slowly as if asking permission I nod. He pulls out pictures. "It's safe. There's food, electricity, and running water. I had to follow you to make sure you were okay."

"You mean would I ruin the group?" I question, he just nods holding out pictures I lean forward and see poorly developed pictures of a well built community. Then in the background I see him. Blurry but I know it's him. "Where is this? Take me to it." I say.

"First I need you to answer three questions." He says slowly putting his bag back on his back.

"What questions?" I ask.

"How many walkers have you killed?" He asks.

"Geeks? Too many to count." I reply still not putting the bow down.

"How many people have you killed?" He asks slowly. I stop and think back to the painful memories.

"Five." I say, barely a whisper I question whether he heard me or not.

"Why?"

"The first one was my mom, I'd rather not talk about it. Then my girlfriend when she got bit also." I say trying to hold back tears. "The next three were these guys that raped me and left me for the geeks. I found them and killed them." I said as a tear spilled over and ran down my cheek.

"I'm sorry to hear that." He says showing he's sorry all over his face. "Listen my name is Aaron, let me take you back to my people. We can help you."

"I don't need help. I need to find my brother. I'll come with you and get some food then I'm gone." I say making sure he understands I don't want to stay. I keep quiet about who I think I saw in the picture. I slowly release the arrow and let Aaron lead the way. We begin the long walk back to an unknown place to me. The walk wasn't as far as I had thought. Though it was over a days' walk, I thought it would be longer. As the sun sets we find a nearby shelter to hide out in until morning. The night is quiet I don't say much but Aaron keeps the conversation going.

"I never did get your name." Aaron says after talking about what a great cook his boyfriend is.

"Carter." I say barely a whisper I'm surprised he heard me.

"You look very familiar." He says.

"Why?" I questioned.

"I can't put my finger on it. I feel like I've seen you before." He says. I look up and he's so concentrated on me.

"Guess we should sleep in shifts. I'll take the first one." I say grabbing my bow. Aaron nods and lays down on the hard floor. I feel like I should be tired soon but I don't feel tired. Soon enough the sun peers through the dirt smeared windows. I watch as the sunlight brightens the room. The sun touched on Aaron's face and he stirred awake. He jumps up.

"Did you get any sleep?" He asks when he finds me sitting where he left me last night. I shake my head.

"Let's just get going." I say. He gathers his stuff and follows me out the door back into the woods. Aaron leads the way on a road. I stay alert,I've never had good experiences with being out in the open. We slowly approach a large wall of metal. I continue to walk in awe of the place.

"This is your groups?" I question.

"Yeah, we are very secured" Aaron says. The pictures don't look as good as the real thing. It feels like forever since we first saw the place, it gets closer and the gate opens. Aaron walks in and I feel hesitant; I turn around and take one last look.

"Carter, I promise it will be okay." Aaron pokes his head out of the gate. I walk up and slowly walk in to a small group waiting and staring at me. They look normal, like how things used to be, but with the occasional obvious sign they had been out in that hell hole I just came from. I hear the screech of the door behind me and jump to turn around. It's shutting me in, I feel closed in. Although the space is huge, you could fit another hundred people in here comfortably.

"Aaron, who's this?" someone asks. I turn back around and see Aaron standing by a man in a sheriff's outfit. I get a bad feeling and really wish I hadn't came in.

"This is Carter. I found her a couple days ago, we've traveled since yesterday and she's good. I've already asked her the three questions." Aaron answers the Sheriff. "Carter, this is Rick. He kind of like our leader." Aaron says with a big smile. I just stand there. I can't do anything.

"Carter, how long have you been alone, out there?" Rick asks me as he approaches a few steps closer.

"I don't know. A couple winter's alone. Ran into a few people but never actually joined a group." I explained. Rick looks back to Aaron.

"You brought her here? She's been alone longer than we've been here. How do we know we can trust her?" He says out loud. "Glen, Aaron bring her to house we kept Morgan in." He said.

"Wait, what? You're just going to lock me away?" I ask to confirm I'm following him.

"You've been on your own for a couple years. I don't know you. I don't trust you right now. We need to protect our people until we know that you won't be attacking us." Rick explained.

"No, forget it. I'm leaving" I say. I turn and the large door is shut. "Open this door!" I yell.

"Hang on, you don't have to stay but we can't let you leave now, it's going to be dark before you find shelter. Letting you leave now is like killing you." Rick said. I turned around and pulled out my knife.

"Well I'm not going to be locked up either." I say. Rick pulls out his gun and everyone backs up.

"No, Carter you don't wanna do that." He says trying to remain calm. "Just come with us. We'll get you settled in and a shower, some warm food."

"No I refuse to be locked up." I say. Then everything goes black.

I start to turn, the surface below me was softer than the ground. I imagine it's a bed. I move my arms but they only move so far. My eyes shoot open. It looks almost like a hospital but on a much smaller scale. I look down and I'm in a gown, with both my hands cuffed to each railing on each side of the bed.

"Hey!" I yell. "You'd better let me go! I ain't gonna do nothing! I just want to leave!" I keep screaming until a woman walks in with glasses.

"I'm sorry under Rick's order's. Can't let you go if I wanted to I don't have the keys." She says sweetly.

"Then find him so he can let me go! Or I swear when I get out of these I'm gonna be hurting someone." I threaten her. She has fear all over her face. I immediately regretted the threat, but all I wanna do was leave. Why can't they let me do that?

"How about I go find him?" She asks as she closes the curtain.

"Yeah you go do that." I snap back to her and she runs to the door. I hear it open but I don't hear it close.

"Hey, have you seen Rick? This girl woke up and says she wants to leave now."

"What girl?" a distant voice asks.

"Where have you been? Aaron brought her back, she pulled a knife and they knocked her out. Now she's pretty angry." The girl continues talking.

"I'll stay with her. You go ahead and find Rick. I think he's a few houses down." The voice gets louder. It sounds so familiar. I start fiddling with the handcuffs again trying to pull, knowing it won't help. My wrists start to get a dark red, surely they will bruise. But I need to get out. I hate being locked up. I just wanted to leave. Just then the curtain flies open and there he is. I'd never seen him with long hair. The seconds pass forever before I speak.

"Daryl?" I whisper just to confirm.

"Katie?" Daryl questions. He runs to my side and leans over to give me an awkward hug. "What the hell did they do to you?" He asks as he carefully inspects my wrists.

"Please Daryl I just want to get out of here. I can't…" I trail off and he looks me in the eye. He understands why I can't stay like this.

"I'll be right back. I'm gonna get the key." He explains running out before I have a chance to protest him leaving me alone.

"GIVE ME THE DAMN KEY!" I hear Daryl scream out. I hear footsteps coming back and get worried until I see his face. He had a busted lip.

Daryl's P.O.V

I was walking, I'd heard something about a new person. Thought I'd catch up with the guys see who we have now. Mostly I wanted to see Aaron, although I'd never admit it to anyone. I was pulled from my thoughts when Denise ran out of the clinic.

"Hey have you seen Rick? This girl woke up and says she wants to leave now!" She said in a panic.

"What girl?" I asked. Is she talking about the newcomer?

"Where have you been? Aaron brought her back, she pulled a knife and they knocked her out. Now she's pretty angry." Denise explained

"I'll stay with her. You go ahead and find Rick. I think he's a few houses down." I said pointing up ahead. Denise nods and I walk up the stairs and through the open door. I leave it open since they should be right back. I walk around the curtain wall to the smaller size curtain and push it open. There she is. Her hair is shorter than I remember but she's there handcuffed to the stretcher. Her struggling had rubbed her wrists raw. I just stared taking it all in. I thought she had died. I haven't seen her since before the walkers invaded our lives.

"Daryl?" She whispers

"Katie?" I questions. I runs to my side and lean over to give her an awkward hug. "What the hell did they do to you?" I asks as I carefully inspects her reddened wrists.

"Please Daryl I just want to get out of here. I can't…" She trail off and I looks her in the eye. I understands why she can't stay like this.

"I'll be right back. I'm gonna get the key." I explains running out the door. As I exit I see Rick approaching.

"How is she?" He asks

"Where's the key?" I ask ignoring his question. How dare they treat her like that.

"What?" Rick asked

"Give me the keys! I need them now!" I said raising my voice.

"I can't do that Daryl" Rick said. I slipped past his arms and grabbed his gun pointing it to him.

"GIVE ME THE DAMN KEY!" I yell. Rick doesn't care I have the gun he lunges at me and we fall to the ground. He lands a good punch to my jaw and I taste my blood. I manage to roll us over and get in a few punches. While he's stunned I grab the keys from his pocket and run back in. Around the curtain her face full of fear and only I know why.

"Are you o..."

"I'm fine" I answer before she finishes asking. I fumble a little but manage to get her arms free and help her to sit up. She wraps her arms around me and grips tight.

"It's alright sweetheart. I'm here now." I say to her. Rick, Carl, Denise, Carol, and Aaron all ran in and saw us. Rick had his gun out pointing at us. I adjusted Katie so she was behind me.

"No Rick don't shoot." Carol pushed ricks gun down. He looked at us with a question mark on his face. The same as everyone else.

"Daryl what is going on here." Rick said.

"She's my sister." I say. No one says a word. I feel Katie behind me peeking out over my arm.

 **Hope you enjoyed that story. I'll upload the next chapter as soon as I finish it. Let me know what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2: That's My Brother!

**Sorry it's late. I'll try to upload every Monday but I get busy with school. Here's the next chapter. Hope you like it.**

Chapter 2: That's My Brother!

Daryl's P.O.V

"She's my sister." I say no one says a word. I feel Katie behind me peeking out over my arm. Once the shock wears off I know the questions will come.

"I don't see the resemblance." Carol blurts out.

"We ain't blood related." I say. "But she still my sister." I say looking back at her.

"Daryl, we didn't know." Rick said obviously feeling ashamed.

"Yeah and if someone had come to get me when she first showed up I would've told you! I would've also told you she can't be locked up like that!" I said releasing the railing and it slid down. "C'mon baby girl lets get you cleaned up" I say as I help her off the bed. We walk passed the crowd and head for the door.

"My stuff." She cries quietly.

"Carl bring her stuff." I yell back. Using a tone to let them know I ain't shitting around. Carl knows he jumped in and followed us with her bag. We go into my place. I only had the living room set up. I was never a nester. I laid Katie down on my makeshift bed. Carl put her bag down and left without saying a word.

"We're staying?" She asked alarmed.

"No" I say as I stop her from getting up. "We'll figure it out tomorrow. Just get some sleep. Don't worry I'll be right here nothing's going to happen to you while I'm around." I say as I push her short hair out of her eyes. She nods and drifts off to sleep. I keep the lights on, knowing that after that she'll wake up with a nightmare and she hates waking up in the dark. I watch her sleep for about an hour in amazement that we found each other. Just when I get up to go to sleep I hear a quiet knock on the door. I walk over to open it and it's Rick. I don't say anything I just leave the door open and walk back to my spot I was sitting at before. Right beside Katie.

"Look Daryl I'm really sorry I h..."

"s'okay" I interrupt. "I'm sorry. When it comes to Katie I get a little over protective" I explain.

"What did you mean by she can't be locked up?" Rick asked.

"When we were younger, I was 16 she must have been 5, her and her folks moved in across from us. Her folks weren't going to get any parent of the year awards anytime soon. She was always alone. I started taking care of her since then. He parents abuse got bad. Sometimes they'd lock her in the basement. They'd take the light bulbs out and leave her in the dark. She couldn't talk when I found her once because she was screaming for so long. Other times her father would handcuff her to a chair and leave her there for days. I always tried to get to her but I couldn't always get past her parents without them calling the cops on me." I explained and saw the sadness in Rick's face

"Oh my god Daryl. I'm so sorry."

"No it wasn't your fault. I should've told you about her a long time ago. Just then I hear Katie scream. I jump and turn. She has a knife in hand and swinging I grab her arms as gently as I can and hold her down.

"Katie! Sweetie it's just a dream! Your having a nightmare." I repeat the phrase over and over until she calms down. I throw the knife away as she goes back to sleep. I sit down beside her and feel something warm running down my arm. I lift it and there's blood she caught me with the knife.

"I'll go get Denise." Rick says.

"No, just grab some bandages. Don't wanna wake her for nothing." I said. He nods. Katie is still having her nightmare. She's breathing heavy in her sleep. Rick comes back with gauze a bottle. He kneels down and opens the bottle.

"What's that?" I ask moving my arm before he touches it.

"It's hydrogen peroxide. It'll keep it from getting infected." Rick said. I've never used it before but I let him be. He pours it over the cut on my right forearm. The pain stings worse than a bee sting as it makes its way deeper into the cut. I bite my tongue and try not to be a wimp about it.

"It's alright Daryl. This stuff brings me to tears. Especially a cut this deep." I let out a chuckle as a way to hide the pain.

As soon as Rick is done the bandage is neatly wrapped. Soon enough I drifted off to a restless sleep. Waking up every little while to make sure Katie was safe. She was aside from the occasional jump.

The next morning the sun rises and I wake up; Katie is already up sitting beside me.

"What's that?" She questions nodding to my arm. I look down and the bandage has a spot where my blood soaked through.

"It's nothing." I say getting up. Katie looks past me. I turn and the knife beside me has my blood dried on it.

"Did I..?" She trailed off.

"No, Katie it wasn't you. I couldn't sleep and was being stupid. Throwing the knife around. Caught my arm." I said lying hoping she would buy it.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah Rick was here ask him." I say hoping she doesn't agree to ask him.

"Fine, I will." She gets up and grabs her knife back and leaves. I drop my head, now I have to face it. "Hey Rick!" I hear her shout from the lawn.

"Shit" I whisper to myself and get up to run and see her. I get there just as Rick is walking up to her. He looks at me and I point to my arm and then toss the knife in the air then mimic cutting my arm. He just nods once.

"What's up?" He asks.

"How did Daryl hurt his arm?" She asks.

"He was throwing the knife in the air and missed it. Caught him." He answered not missing a beat. I let out a small sigh.

"Okay" she said and turned back to me and walked in the house.

I stepped down the few steps in front of me. "Thanks."

"Why did I just lie?" Rick asked

"I lied because if she knows she left a little cut on me she will feel bad about it. She's already been through enough." I explain.

"Sounds reasonable but it's more than a little cut" he says pointing to my bandages still soaking through. I just brush it off. "So is she going to be sticking around?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm not planning on letting her leave me again." I say.

"Okay, but she will be your responsibility. She has to follow the rules like everyone else. She has to pull her own weight like everyone else. I understand what she's been through but I can make exceptions." Rick gives me a small lecture.

"Don't need the lecture Rick. If you mean I can't let her go crazy I won't." I said becoming slightly defensive before walking back into the house.

"You two are such liars!" Katie says.

"What?" I ask.

"You got him to lie for you didn't you?" She asks.

"Why'd I do that?" I ask.

"He was looking at you, you got him to lie. How did you hurt your arm?" She asks again.

"Enough about my arm. What about you? What happened to you out there?" I asked and she became quiet.

"I'm not ready to talk about it yet." She says turning away. Just as there's a knock on the wall. I look up and Aaron is there standing in the doorway.

"Hey Daryl, I just thought I'd check on Carter. How are you doing?" He asks.

"Carter?" I question.

"It's the name I've been going by. Katie isn't exactly a tough name." Katie explains. "I'm okay." She answers him. I catch myself trading smiles with Aaron when I jump up.

"Well I'm going to see when Rick needs me to make another run." I say "You wanna come?" I ask facing Katie.

"No I'm fine here. I'll look for you if I need you." Katie answers.

"I'll come with you. I need to know if I should still be recruiting." Aaron says as he walks out. Katie gives me a thumbs up.

"What's that for?" I ask.

"He seems nice." she nods to Aaron waiting on the porch with a smile.

"Hey it ain't like that. He's a friend." I say trying not to let my real feelings show.

"Uh-huh sure he is." she giggles.

"Shut up." I say.

"Love you too." She yells at me as I leave. I avoid eye contact as we walk down the road.

"So she's your sister." Aaron asks.

"Yeah, practically raised her." I say admitting the truth.

"That's pretty cool, after all this time you get to see her again." he says flashing his usual smile, as I give in and look up from the ground. I don't know what it was about him that I liked to be around. Maybe it was that he didn't judge me.

"Yeah, still a pain in my ass." I chuckle.

"Guess that's what younger siblings do."

"Yeah I guess so." I laugh as we approach Rick's house.

"Hey guys." He said holding Judith.

"Hey, I just wanted to know if I should take another run for supplies? I figured I'd bring Katie with me just to ease her into this place by not making her stay all the time. Right now at least." I explained forgetting that everyone knows her as Carter.

"Katie?" He asked confused.

"I mean Carter." I correct myself.

"Oh, yeah we could use some more supplies. Especially some baby food." He looks at Judith.

"Are we still going to recruit?" Aaron asked.

"I think we'll hold off until we get Carter settled in." Rick said.

"You could come with me and Kat…Carter. Could use the extra hands to bring back more." I suggest. Aaron smiled and nodded. We walked off to get "Carter", it'll take me a while to stop calling her Katie. We pack up a few things, mostly empty bags and weapons; then we head out and I see the weight lifted off Ka..Carter I correct myself in my head.

"So why Carter?" Aaron asks

"Technically it was my last name. After everything that happened I started going by Carter Dixon." She shrugs.

"So, how did you two meet? If you don't mind me asking." Aaron asked.

"Oh Daryl pretty much raised me. He's 11 years older than me. My 'parents' and I moved across the street from him when I was about 5?" she say using finger quotes around parents.

"That was nice of him." Aaron smiled at Carter.

"Yeah, I don't know where I'd be if it weren't for him. Probably bouncing from foster home to foster home getting lost in the system. He took care of me for so long by the time I was 10 I started telling people he was my brother. It was easier than explaining that he was my neighbour that's been taking care of me since I was 5." She explains.

"I never knew that you were good with kids." Aaron smiles at me.

"That's my brother! Always so mysterious." She laughs.

"So Aaron, how is Eric doing?" I asked as we continued to walk.

"I..uh…we actually broke up." He said trying to hold back how he felt.

"Oh, I'm sorry." I say trying to hold back feeling happy. I feel a nudge on my other side and Carter smiles at me. How could she know? I don't even know what I'm feeling. "Stop it" I mouth to her.

 **Hope you like the story so far. Do you think Daryl and Rick are going to remain on the same page? What happens if Daryl puts his sister before everything? He's already got Rick to lie for him to protect her.**


	3. Chapter 3: Guess Who's Coming To Dinner

**Hope you're liking the story so far. I'm trying my best to write as much as I can. Hope it's making sense. This is my first Walking Dead fanfic I've written ever.**

Chapter 3: Guess Who's Coming To Dinner

Carter's P.O.V

It feels like we've been walking forever and we haven't seen anything until now. Theres a pile of cars. I smile.

"Wait here." I say and run off.

"Carter!" Daryl call after me as I run into the mess of cars. "Katie Elizabeth Carter!" Daryl yells. I poke my head from between a truck and minivan.

"I hate when you use my full name." I call back before disappearing again this time in the truck. I pull out a mess of wires and start hot-wiring it.. "Got it!" I jump out and see Daryl. His face changes.

"Katie! Get down." Daryl screams. I turn around and there's two walkers heading right for me. I pull out my knife and start swinging. I push one walker hard enough to knock them down and face the other one. Throwing the knife aiming for the brain. The walker falls and I turn back to the one I pushed. I hold my knife in front of me ready to fight. The walker gargles and comes at me at a slow speed. It gets a hold of my arm and I bring my knee up and push it to the ground. The knife dives deep into the brain as I stab it. The grip on my arm releases and I get up and wipe a blood splatter from my cheek. Daryl just stares still pointing his crossbow in my direction.

"Are we going or not?" I ask as I turn back to the truck I started. I claim the driver seat of the single cab truck. Only the middle and passenger seat available, unless someone sits in the back. The door opens and I look the two boys look at each other and silently debate who gets middle. "God! Daryl would you just get in?" I practically yell. He doesn't argue and gets in. I continue to drive down the road we we're heading down.

"When did you learn to hot-wire a car?" Daryl asks.

"I had a day free when I had enough food and water and a garage with a car." I boys look to each other and I reach over and push the eject button to see if there's a CD in there. I pull it out and see Three Days Grace album One-X.

"Yes." I whisper and pop it back in.

"Don't tell me it's that pop crap you listen to." Daryl sighs.

"No I stopped listening to that long time ago." I said. "The last time you came to visit was like a year before everything went to shit."

"Since when do you swear?" He asks surprised.

"Since the world went to shit." I repeat as the song It's All Over starts to play.

"What happened to you?" Daryl says looking at me.

"Well, you only got to visit every so often because I lived so far away. So while I was away I changed. Then the world went to shit and I had to learn to survive. There's a lot you don't know about me." I mention.

"I guess we gotta catch up." He says. I nod.

"It's all over for you. For you. When you're on the edge and falling off.." I sing along with the song.

"Turn right here." Daryl points out and I turn, we come up to an abandoned town. I park outside of a convince store.

"Grab what you can and get out. I say as I disconnect the wires and the truck shuts off and I get out.

"Who made her boss?" I hear Daryl ask. I go beside one door with the handle in one hand and my knife in the other. Daryl raises his crossbow ready to shoot and nods at me. I nod back just before opening the door. One walker comes out and walks into his arrow effectively killing it. I slowly go in and we all spread out. I stay on alert and open my bag throwing a bunch of food and supplies in it. I don't pay attention to what I'm throwing in.

"Ready to go?" Daryl asks. "My bag's full." I throw a couple more handfuls of things in my bag and close it up.

"Ready." I say going back to see Daryl at the entrance.

"Why don't you take that sweater off? It's pretty hot?" Daryl asks. I just shrug and hope he doesn't ask again. Aaron joins us shortly after. I open the door slightly and the street is clear.

"You know if I back the truck up we can grab almost everything out of here." I suggest.

"Let's do it." Aaron says.

"Alright, I'll grab some things. Aaron you find something to hold the door open." Daryl says taking charge. I nod and run to the truck touching the wires together again. I back up and Aaron has the doors open.

"We need to speed it up. Theres a couple walkers down the street. Only a matter of time until they notice us." I say as we all start loading up. The truck is almost full, we just start throwing everything in and climb back into the truck. The ride is shorter than the walk back. We celebrate as I drive us back home. Once I see it in the distance I speed up. Aaron pulls out a walkie.

"Aaron to Alexandria come in." He says.

"This is Alexandria go ahead." a voice says out of the radio.

"We're coming back in a red truck. Open the gates." He says as he waves with the other hand out the window waving. The door begins opening and I drive right in. We get stares as I drive through the roads and where Daryl guides me to where we keep the food and supplies. Rick comes running over as we're getting out of the truck. He looks in the back and all the things we got.

"How?" He asks.

"I hot-wired a truck backed it in and cleared it out. We won't need to make a run for a while now." I smile. He chuckles and picks up a box that says XXL condoms on it.

"No we won't"

"I didn't know what we grabbed, we just grabbed everything and ran." I laughed.

Everyone pitched in and helped pack everything in while some others helped stock up. After everything Daryl and I walked back to the house.

"Hey, you never mentioned Merle." I blurt out. "I don't imagine he likes suburbia did he leave?" I ask.

"No..he uh…he died." He choked out.

"What?" I ask in shock trying to hold back tears.

"Yeah, he was missing so I went to find him. By the time I found him he turned. I had to.." He trails off but I know what he did. Merle and I weren't close but he knew Daryl took care of me a lot. I hung out with him a few times but we had a difference of opinion and argues almost every time we saw each other.

"Oh, Daryl I'm sorry." I let out a sigh putting my hand up on his shoulder.

"S'nothing." He shakes it off and speeds up his walk. I stop when I hear two men arguing. I look in between the two houses on my left and see Aaron and I'm guessing the other guy is Eric.

"No there's nothing more to discuss." Aaron practically yells in Eric's face before walking towards the road I'm at. He looks up and sees me. I jump, I shouldn't be here, and I'm ready to start running to catch up to Daryl when Aaron talks.

"Hey, how you doing?"

"I'm fine…are you okay?" I ask awkwardly.

"Yeah, I could be better but I'll live."

"Do you wanna come over tonight? I'll cook dinner for you, Daryl, and I?" I offer.

"Yeah that'll be great." He smiles.

"Great, I'll get everything ready by sunset." I say.

"Sounds good. See you then." Aaron smiles and walks away. I walk in and see Daryl sitting in an empty room.

"What do you do for fun? I hear some of these kids have video games. Bet I can still beat your ass." I joke.

"Nah, don't feel like it." Daryl objects.

"So you just sit in here alone?" I ask.

"Yeah, I guess. Well I went to dinner once." Daryl said.

"Yeah? With who?" I ask intrigued and sit directly across from him.

"Eric and Aaron, at least when they were together. We had spaghetti." He says with a small smile sneaking out.

"You like Aaron don't you?" I ask.

"What? NO!" He answers but I can tell he's lying. I nudge him and he smiles. "How did you know?"

"I'm your sister I've known you since I was 5 years old. I know you. I also suspected for a while now. I just wanted to give you the space to come out yourself." I explained.

"I don't know if I am. I don't know if I'm not." Daryl confesses.

"Listen your my brother, whether or not you get me a sister in law or brother in law. I love you unconditionally. Now your 'dad' he's a different story but he's gone now. It's just you and me and who cares what the rest of these people think. If Aaron starts dating you and those friends you have don't accept that then we leave. We can survive on our own. But I'll always have your back." I say giving him a little speech.

"Thank you." Daryl says.

"So your good if anything happens with you and Aaron?"

"Well, yeah I guess." He admits to me.

"Good because I invited him to dinner tonight." His head immediately meets mine.

"Katie tell me you didn't." He begs.

"I gotta start cooking. What you got in this kitchen?" I jump up and start going through the food.

"Katie why'd you do that?"

"I caught him at the end of his fight with Eric. I felt bad for him and remembered you liked him so I invited him over." I explain as I start mixing together some stuff for a quick vegetable soup.

"Are they…?" Daryl began to ask.

"No, I highly doubt it. Aaron seemed pretty sure that he didn't want to talk." I answered him as he picked up a couple pieces of celery and carrots to chew on.

"Do you even have a table here?" I asked looking around.

"It's in the garage." He nods to the door across from the kitchen.

"Well would you make yourself useful? Bring it in?" I motioned to the dinner I was making.

"Alright." He says putting his hands up in surrender. From what I've seen he doesn't show this side to anyone. Everyone always looks at him like he's so tough and scary.

I finish the soup and look for bowls. I find about 5 or 6 in a cupboard as Daryl carries the small table in to the small dinning area between the living room and kitchen. It was a small table maybe 5 or 6 people would fit if they felt like squishing together. I wet a towel and go to wipe the table down when there's a knock on the door.

"Would you get that?" I ask.

"Why don't you?" He asked.

"Fine you can clean the table" I say as I throw the cloth to him before going to answer the door. Aaron is standing there with a plate of cookies.

"Dessert." He smiles.

"That's so thoughtful of you." I smile and take the plate. "Come on in." I say opening the door some more. I walk back and Daryl sees the cookies. He tries to grab one as I walk by but I smack his hand.

"Hey." He says with a stern tone.

"They're for after dinner." I say, have a seat anywhere you'd like I say to Aaron and look back to Daryl who's eating a cookie. I just sigh and walk back into the kitchen to dish some soup out for everyone. When I come back to the table Aaron and Daryl are talking and laughing. I smile and set the bowls in front of them before I go back to grab my bowl. It doesn't taste so great, but it's better than cooking it on a stove.

"So how'd you two meet?" I asked.

"Oh I found Daryl and his group. I recruited them the same way I recruited you. I brought them back here and Rick ended up becoming our leader." Aaron explained.

"Oh, did everyone in your group come in like that?" I asked.

"Not everyone, they all have their own stories." Daryl answered. Eventually everyone finished eating and I cleared the bowls before grabbing the plate of cookies. It may not have been a glamorous dinner but considering the circumstances I say it was pretty good.

Daryl's P.O.V

Carter came back with the plate of cookies. I couldn't help but feel nervous about what she was doing here. I wanted everything to go back to normal but that's not going to happen now. Carter placed the plate of cookies on the table and picked up a few.

"You know I'm kind of tired so I'm taking these to bed and I'll see you guys tomorrow." She said as she finished a cookie. Aaron was grabbing a cookie when I was mouthing to her 'No don't do this to me.' Aaron looked back to me and I pretended to stretch.

"Good night." Aaron smiled at her.

"Nite." I said not very happy with her.

"Night boys." She says as she finishes her last cookie before going to lay down on the makeshift bed I had set up on the other side of the room in the living room area.

 **So how are you liking the story so far? Let me know in the Reviews.**


	4. Chapter 4: Secrets

**I'm not sure if you guys are liking this story. Let me know in a review if you like it. What should I change? What characters would you like to see?**

Chapter 4: Secrets

Daryl's P.O.V

"How have you been?" I asked trying to break the silence.

"Well it's rough to be honest. Eric and I have been together for so long and now I find out that he'd been cheating on me with someone from the outside." Aaron confesses.

"I'm sorry man. A break ups not that easy to go through." I mentioned, not really knowing what to say.

"I can't even talk to him. I know that he came out and told me the truth, but…just the fact that he did it makes me…" He trails off trying to find the right words.

"Pissed." I say.

"Yes, thank you! I just can't believe all that we've been through he kept saying that he's worrying that I'll leave him and he goes and does this and he didn't just see another guy he slept with him." He says on the verge of tears.

"I don't know what it feels like to have your heart broken. But I do know that pain is hard to take. Trust me I've been through some tough times. I've lost so many people. But it does get easier. I mean I was just about ready to give up when I finally get good news. I found my sister. I'm sure everything will work out for you." I explain.

"Thank you. But I think it's over for Eric and I." Aaron said.

"Maybe you'll find someone else." I said trying to be positive, Aaron looked up from the table and looked right into my eyes. We sat there for what felt like an eternity.

"Yeah, maybe I will." He smiled as he moved a little closer.

"What r'ya doing?" I asked not moving an inch either way. I was just frozen there. I didn't know what to do.

"I know your sister didn't invite me just to be nice." He said as he moved closer, our face inches apart. I could feel his breath hitting my lips. As if he read my mind he stopped me before I said anything. I closed my eyes and waited. His lips pressed into mine. I felt my whole body tense up not knowing what to do in this unfamiliar situation. Aaron brushed his tongue along my lips and they slowly part letting him in. I feel his hand on the side of my head pulling me closer to him as we deepen our kiss. We stay there kissing until we Run out of breath. Running out of breath we part our lips and push our foreheads together. I keep my eyes closed just breathing. Slowly we part and sit back in our seats. I open my eyes and Aaron is sitting there smiling.

"I haven't had a kiss that good in…I don't know how long." He says almost a whisper.

"I…uh.." I say not knowing what to say.

"Was that your first time kissing anyone?" He asks. I shake my head.

"First time with…a…"

"guy?" he questions as he finishes my sentence. I just nod.

"Well maybe I should go." Aaron says.

"No, it's…it's okay. Just give me a second." I say taking in what just happened looking over to Katie and she's laying there when I notice someone looking in the window. I sit up and Aaron looks over, I recognize the man.

"Eric." He confirms. Eric runs off.

"Your not going to go after him?" I asked.

"No, he needs to know that it's over." Aaron says turning his back to the window.

"Are you sure?" I asked confirming. I didn't know what to do, the only person to care enough to tear down these walls I built was Katie.

"Yeah, I wouldn't have kissed you if I knew it was over between him and I." Aaron says and I feel heat rush to my face.

"How about breakfast tomorrow? I can cook at my place? Or I can come over here and cook." Aaron asks.

"Yeah, sure that'd be cool." I answer.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow morning. My place." Aaron grabs his jacket and I stand up to walk him to the door. Just as he walks out he turns back to me.

"Look I don't know what's going to happen here….with us." I admit as much as I don't want to.

"I know. Your new to this. I'm not trying to push you into anything. But I can safely say that I care about you. Now that I know you a little more I feel I can care about you as more than a friend." Aaron says. I just nod and let out a small smile as I close the door. I walk back knowing that Katie isn't sleeping.

"Why'd you do that?" I asked.

"Because I knew you liked him."

"But what if I wasn't ready to admit that to myself?" I questioned her.

"Daryl, I was just trying to…"

"I never asked you to!" I almost yelled.

"Daryl, at some point you need to let someone else in. You need to break down those walls you built." She says not getting mad at my out burst.

"I can't." is all I can get out.

"You never told me about what happened after Merle left." She said.

"…" I don't say anything, I can't tell her.

"Daryl what happened?" She asked raising her voice. I couldn't say anything. I took off my vest, and started pacing back and forth. "Please Daryl let me in."

"He…" I said.

"Daryl please." She begged. I couldn't say anything I just took off my shirt still facing her.

"Please don't freak out." I whisper.

Carter's P.O.V

"Promise, if you promise no more secrets between us." I said back and Daryl nods before he hesitates before turning his back to me. His back full of old wounds that healed. I can't help but let out a gasp. I stand up and slowly walk up to him trying to be quiet. I reach over and touch one of his scars. As I touch his back he jumps and looks back.

"Oh, Daryl." I sigh. "I…" He slowly turns around with tears in his eyes.

"Now you know. Now you know why I didn't wanna show you." He sobs. I pull him into a hug and try to be strong. My brother was abused by his father and I knew. I never did anything about it.

"I knew." I cried out.

"What do you mean you knew?." He said getting control over himself.

"After you left…uh…my parents." I started not knowing how to tell him.

"What? What'd they do to you?" He asked sternly.

"They we're beating me when a neighbour saw through the window. They called the cops." I say trying to hold back how sad I felt. They weren't there for me. Daryl raised me but still they were my parents.

"What?" he questioned.

"Department of children and family services got involved and I told them about you. About how you practically raised me. They asked your dad to get a hold of you, but he didn't try. He just told them a bunch of lies about you. I was placed with him for the last two years before all this happened." I explained. Daryl turned around and punched the wall.

"Did he hurt you?" He asked facing me with rage, not directed to me but to his father. "DID HE HURT YOU?" Daryl screamed and I jumped.

"It wasn't everyday." I admit.

"Show me." Daryl yelled although it was a lot calmer than a few seconds ago. I jump and unzip the sweater that hides the scars. I drop the sweater on the floor and stand there in my tank top with some scars hiding under that. Daryl gasps. I try to look anywhere but his face, I know how torn he will be.

"Not all of it is from your dad, some is from school." I mention.

"School?"

"There were these girls, it's nothing." I say trying to hold back tears

"No, it's all my fault." Daryl whispers before heading towards the door. I run after him and grab his arm.

"No it's not. I know why you left, because I went through it too." I say trying to calm him down.

"I can't have you leaving right now." I said and he looked at me; I tried my best to hide the fear in my eyes.

"Why? What is it?" He questioned.

"When things went bad, I went back home. To grab some stuff and all three of them were there. I tried to get stuff and leave but my parents, they got in the way." I started.

"What happened?" He asked for more of the story.

"I shot her." Was all I could get out.

"Your mom?"

"Yeah." I said as my voice cracked. I looked Daryl in the eye and it's like he read my mind.

"My dad, and your dad, they're after me. I've been on the run from them." I say as a couple of tears fall. "These bruises," I point to my arm. "they're from them. About a week ago."

"What?"

"We need to leave. They're going to come for me." I explained.

"No, we're a big group we can hold them o.."

"Not with kids around." I interrupt him and he looks at me. "I was with a group they knew about them and tried to help. They came in and killed the kids right in front of their parents to get to me. I can't stay."

"No, we're going to train everyone here. We'll be fine."

"Look I'm leaving in the morning and you can come if you want, bring who you want." I say.

"I just need to take a walk." He almost whispered as he walked out the door. I shouldn't have come looking for him. Maybe I would've been better off looking out for myself.

Daryl's P.O.V

I left and walked out in the dark and begin to walk. How do I leave when I'm finally about to have something here? A real home. Not one with a drunk beating me everyday, having to defend myself. But my sister needs me. Before I know it I'm outside Aaron's house. I don't knock but he must have seen me.

"Daryl?" I hear him come out.

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you." I say just getting ready to leave.

"Is everything okay?"

"I have to leave in the morning." I blurt out without thinking.

"What? Why?" Aaron runs down his steps and spins me around to face him.

"My sister, she's got some people after her. I need to leave with her to keep her safe." I explain.

"What? What kind of people?"

"It's complicated, but I need to do this for her. It's my job to protect her." I said holding back tears.

"No, we're secure here, she'll be safe here."

"You don't know these guys, they won't stop!" I said turning away from him. "I have to do this. We're leaving at first light. I have to Aaron. She's my sister. My only real family I have left."

"Please don't go." Aaron said grabbing my hand gently and turning me to face him but all I do is look down. I can't look at him, I won't be able to see the pain on his face. He just pulls me into a kiss. Through the tears I kiss him back, until a force knocks me to the ground out of nowhere. Theres a blow to my right cheek and I taste blood in my mouth. Someone is attacking me. I push my fist up and try to fight back. Throwing fists trying to protect myself.

"Stop it!" I hear Aaron yell. I manage to get a look and see the shadow of the person's head. I pull back and release a hard punch. It knocks the person down and into the light from Aaron's flashlight in his hand. It's him. How'd he find us so fast?

"Katie." I whisper before I start running back down the street to my house.

 **Sorry another cliffhanger. :D**


	5. Chapter 5: Survive

**Here's the next chapter, hope you like it.**

Chapter 5: Survive

Daryl's P.O.V

My lungs are screaming for air by the time I get back to my house. There's a dim light in the living room where Katie and I sleep. I rush through the door opening it more violently than I wanted.

"Daryl? What's wrong?" Katie asked as she stood up where she was sitting near the light.

"They're here." I said between breaths.

"What?" She gasped not hiding the fear in her voice.

"My dad, he just attacked me. I'm willing to bet they know you're here too." I said slowly catching my breath.

"We need to leave. Is there a car we can take?" She asked as she threw all her stuff together.

"Yeah, we can take the car…they're going to need the van and truck for supplies." I said as I grabbed my stuff. We grabbed the flashlight and headed to the door. I opened the door and fear struck over me, I pulled my crossbow to my shoulder aiming to his head. He had a knife to Aaron's throat. How could I have been so stupid to leave Aaron there.

"Put the bow down boy!" He yelled. I hesitate but lower the bow before pushing Katie behind me. "Back up." I backed up making sure to stay in front of Katie.

"Katie, sweetheart, we've been looking everywhere for you." He laughed. His short hair messy, and his clothes worn out and there's blood on his hands. I examine Aaron from where I stand to check if he hurt him. Aaron's fine, then who did he hurt?

"It's Carter." Katie corrects him.

"You don't have any right to talk to her." I spit at him.

"Carter? Well Carter we have a score to settle with you. You took something from your dad. No one takes stuff from my friends and gets away with it." He said tightening his grip on Aaron.

"Since when do you have friends?" I asked trying to distract him while I thought of a plan.

"Listen boy you don't shut your trap Imma kill your boyfriend here." He pulled the blade making a small cut on Aaron's throat. I start to step forward but stop mid-step. "Ah, don't test me"

"C'mon Carter we've got some talking to do." I use my arm to keep her behind me. When I feel a small push.

"No, Katie, you don't have to." I say turning my head to face her without letting her pass.

"I love you Daryl." She said before walking around my arm and to my dad. Why would she do that.

"There you got me, now let him go." She said sternly. He shoved Aaron, who lost his footing, and fell into me. I caught him, steadying him on his feet.

"Are you okay?" I ask. He just nods and looks down. "Katie." I say putting Aaron behind me this time. He had Katie and pulled her out. When I hear the door open, Katie made signals with her hand. We always had hand signals to signal each other from our bedrooms. Her signal meant there's another one with a gun.

"I'll be right back." I say. He nodded and I ran to the door. I look through the peep hole and see Katie standing as far from the guys as she can. I fling the door open and shoot the arrow into my dads arm that's holding her. She gets free and grabs her knife stabbing the other guy, it's her dad. I load another arrow but when I look up they're running down the street as I hear shots. Down the road I see shadows running towards us. I flick the light on for the outside and as they come into the light I see Rick, Carol, and Glenn running with guns.

"You guys okay?" Rick asks lowering his gun as the rest keep running.

"Yeah." I breath out as I embrace Katie.

"Where's Aaron?" She asked.

"He's inside. Are you okay?" I asked holding her at arm's length to check her over and she nods. "Okay, I'm going to go check on Aaron. I'll be right back okay?" She nods again I look at Rick and he just nods.

"I'll keep an eye on her." He said. I nod.

"Are you okay?" I asked when I ran back in.

"What the hell just happened?" He asked.

"It's the reason I need to leave. The longer I stay the more everyone's in danger." I explain.

"No, please don't go." He said looking me in the eye.

"I have to bef…" I start but get interrupted by Aaron pulling me in for a kiss.

"Daryl we have to…" I hear Katie's voice cut off and I pull away. "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt." Before I respond she's already back outside.

"I have to go." I say before giving Aaron a quick kiss on the cheek, then I grab the bags and meet Katie outside. "Are you ready?" I ask tossing Katie her bag.

"What? You're leaving?" Rick asked.

"Gotta keep my sister safe." I say not wanting to explain as we head off I feel an arm turn me around.

"She can be safe here. We're safer together." Rick says sternly.

"No, she won't. They got over the wall once, and they'll come again." I said pulling my arm away.

"No, I'm not letting you leave the group like this." Rick said.

"I'm leaving and no one can stop me." I said turning my back to Rick when he grabbed my arm again and I turned and swung a punch, hitting him right in the jaw. He was caught off guard and fell to the ground. Carl pushed me aside and sat beside his dad. "Let's go." I say almost a whisper to Katie. She didn't say anything and we ran for the car.

I get in the driver's seat after throwing the bags in the trunk with the exception of my crossbow in the back seat. Katie got in the passenger seat when I pull out wires from under the steering wheel. I start the car and the front lights come on. Rick is standing there with Carl both have their guns raised to us.

"Get out of the car." Rick said. "Let's talk this through." I rev the engine trying to signal to them to move. "Don't make me threaten your sister Daryl. Get out of the car and we'll talk this through." Rick yelled pointing the gun to Katie.

"Shit." I breathe. "Wait here" I get out of the car both hands in the air. "You best stop pointing that gun at my sister." I say trying to stay calm.

"Then let's talk about this." He said lowering his gun but not putting it away. "Who was that?"

"S'none of your business." I said putting my hands down. "Now get out of my way."

"No, Daryl. We're family now. After all we've been through. I told you before and I'll tell you again. You. Are. My. Brother" Rick said mentioning each word clearly. "Now tell me what the hell is going on." I just turn around and take a breath before looking back to Rick and Carl. "Please Daryl, don't shut me out. We're all here for you but you keep pushing us away. I know you and Merle didn't have the happiest childhood but you need to learn to let people in. Just let us in."

"I….he…" I said trying to find the right words.

"Go ahead Daryl, talk to me. Let me help."

"He's my dad." I breath out and I hear small chatter among the group gathering behind Carl.

"What? I always thought your dad was dead." Rick said.

"No, he's alive. He took Carter in when her parents we're arrested for beating on her. The cops placed her there. When all this happened she ended up killing her mom. So my dad's helping her dad come for her. They're both coming for us." I explain.

"Daryl, we can figure this out."

"No, you don't understand. He'll never stop."

"We can deal with this…" I cut him off.

"You don't know what he's capable of."

"Then tell me. I'm here for you Daryl I know it can be scary."

"Ain't scared of nothin'" I spit back. "You really wanna know what he does. What he can do?" I turn around and pull off my shirt. There's a gasp and everything is silent. I turn around revealing more scars. "If he can do this to his own kid he can do anything. Now let me go!" I scream before getting in the car. I put it into drive and start driving, Carl and Rick jump out of the way.

"Are you okay?" Katie whispers.

"M'fine. Just need to get that gate opened." I say racing through the streets.

"I'll do it." I just nod trying to hide how I'm feeling. I stop at the gate and Katie gets out and opens the gate slowly with her knife ready. She stabs a few walkers before opening it all the way. I drive through and get out to cover her while she closes the gate again. We get in to the car and drive off.

Rick's P.O.V

I grab Carl's arm and pull him with me out of the way of the car Daryl's driving. Why won't he listen? I know he's hurting but he's stuck with me this long. I don't understand.

"Glenn, make sure the gate gets closed. Rest of you should get some sleep." I say.

"What we're just going to let them leave?" Carol asks.

"Daryl's left before, he'll come back. He just needs time to cool off." I reassure Carol. She nods and leaves with everyone back to their houses.

"Carl, are you okay?" I ask checking him over.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll see you back at the house. Maggie's watching Judith." He says before following the others. When I notice Aaron is still there.

"Aaron? It's Aaron right?" I ask.

"Yeah."

"Everything's going to be okay. It'll all work out."

"It's all my fault."

"How is it your fault?"

"He came to me earlier, he threatened to kill me if I said anything." He said his voice shaking.

"Daryl?" No, it couldn't be.

"No, his dad. He was waiting when I got home. Said to make an excuse for Daryl to come over. But then he saw Daryl outside and told me to keep him talking. I didn't say anything to him. It's my fault." Aaron said breaking down into tears.

"No, Aaron your life was on the line. You had no choice. It's not your fault. If it wasn't you, it could have been someone else. He could have threatened Carl or Judith. Or one of the other people and they all would've done the same thing you did." I said pulling Aaron into a hug.

"Aaron?" I pulled away and saw Eric.

"I'll leave you two alone." I say. "Are you going to be okay?" I asked Aaron.

"Yeah, thanks Rick." He says.

"Anytime." I give him a small smile before I walk back to the house. When I get back I find Carl sitting beside Judith.

"Nobody is ever going to hurt her." Carl said quietly looking at Judith.

"What?" I ask.

"I'm never going to let anyone hurt my sister, the way Daryl's protecting his sister."

"I know that son."

"But you don't understand, Daryl was just protecting her. We shouldn't have gotten in the way."

"I know."

"No, you don't understand. A parent can protect you but they won't be there forever. Your brother, your sister, they're there for life. They're the one person you can depend on. He can't turn on his sister. Even for you." He said. When did he start sounding so grown up?

"I get that Carl, but he needs to think past her to be rational. He needs to think about their path in the long run." I said.

"That's not going to happen. Not as long as she's alive." Carl said as he held Judith. "We're going to need to leave soon."

"What are you talking about? We're safe here." I argue.

"No, we're not. Those guys are going to come back and look for Daryl and Carter. They don't know that they left. They'll keep looking until they find them. We need to leave at first light and find a new place." Carl said.

"I promise you, son. No one will come here. No one will hurt Judith." I say crouching down beside my kids.

"If anything happens…"

"Nothing will happen."

"But if it does, I'll take Judith and I'll head south. I'll wait for three days in the first town." He looks at Judith. "No one will even think of hurting her. It's just so you know where we will be."

"Okay, son." I said before pulling them both into a hug. "You're a good big brother, you know that?"

"I promised mom I would be." He admits. Carl was made for this. He will survive.

 **Please review. Let me know how the story is going.**


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